James, Rivers Invited to 2025 WNBA Draft
4/11/2025 9:56:00 AM | Women's Basketball
NEW YORK – Aziaha James and Saniya Rivers of the NC State women's basketball team are two of 16 players that have been invited to the 2025 WNBA Draft presented by State Farm on Monday, April 14, held at The Shed at Hudson Yards in New York City. The draft will be televised on ESPN starting at 7:30 p.m.
NC State is one of two schools, South Carolina the other, to have two student-athletes invited to this year's WNBA Draft.
Playing all four seasons in a Wolfpack uniform, James finished her career with 1,589 points, the 12th most in school history, along with 184 career 3-pointers, the seventh most in program history. James played in 130 games, No. 8 in program history, along with ending her Wolfpack career playing in 105 straight contests. The Virginia Beach, Virginia native became a two-time All-ACC First Team honoree, as well as was an All-America Honorable Mention selection by the AP, USBWA and WBCA.
James' 627 points this season finished at No. 9 in a single season in school history, ending just behind her junior year total of 637, which is No. 8 on the single-season points chart. In her senior year, James finished with double digits in scoring in all but one of her 35 games played, along with tallying 14 of her 27 career 20-point games and one of her three 30-point contests in 2024-25. After tallying a career-high 36 points on 15-of-19 shooting from the field vs. No. 10/10 Duke, James was named the ACC Player of the Week and USBWA National Player of the Week for the second time of the season. She finished her Wolfpack career with a 103-27 record in games she played.
Rivers established herself as one of the most versatile players in the ACC. She finished her NC State career with 1,118 points, 605 rebounds, 354 assists, 189 steals and 109 blocks in three seasons. She has the ninth most blocks, 14th most steals and 15th most assists in school history, starting in 82 of 101 appearances for the Pack with 61 straight starts. In her senior year, Rivers averaged 11.9 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, while leading the team with 3.8 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.3 blocks per game. Rivers was named an All-ACC First Team selection and All-Defensive Team choice and earned WBCA All-America Honorable Mention honors.
Putting up near triple-double numbers at the latter part of the season, Rivers averaged 11.4 points, 8.1 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game in the final 10 games. Her statline of 17 points, eight rebounds and an NCAA Tournament program record 11 assists with two blocks and two steals were numbers a men's or women's player had not achieved in an NCAA Tournament game this century. She put up a season-high 25 points, including 18 second half points against Davidson.
The Wolfpack finished the 2024-25 season with a 28-7 mark and an ACC Regular Season Co-Championship after earning a 16-2 league record. James, Rivers and the Pack earned the program's sixth NCAA Sweet 16 berth in the last seven tournaments, playing as a No. 2 seed, and finished the season ranked No. 9 in the AP Poll, the sixth time a Wes Moore team has ended the season in the top 10 in his 12 years at the helm.
The 2025 WNBA season officially tips off on Friday, May 16.
2025 WNBA DRAFT INVITEES
1. Georgia Amoore - Kentucky
2. Sarah Ashlee Barker - Alabama
3. Paige Bueckers - UConn
4. Sonia Citron - Notre Dame
5. Sania Feagin - South Carolina
6. Kiki Iriafen - USC
7. Aziaha James - NC State
8. Dominique Malonga - France
9. Aneesah Morrow - LSU
10. Te-Hina PaoPao - South Carolina
11. Saniya Rivers - NC State
12. Madison Scott - Ole Miss
13. Shyanne Sellers - Maryland
14. Ajša Sivka - Slovenia
15. Serena Sundell - Kansas State
16. Hailey Van Lith - TCU
Wolfpack in the WNBA
18 Draft Picks | 4-First Round Selections
1997 - Sharon Manning - Charlotte Sting (R2, P10)
1997 - Trena Trice - New York Liberty (R3, P22)
1997 - Umeki Webb - Phoenix Mercury (R3, P24)
1997 - Rhonda Mapp - Charlotte Sting (picked R1, P3 in Elite Draft)
1997 - Andrea Strinson - Charlotte Sting (initial player allocation)
1999 - Chastity Melvin - Cleveland Rockers (R1, P11)
2000 - Summer Erb - Charlotte Sting (R1, P11)
2001 - Tynesha Lewis - Houston Comets (R2, P31)
2004 - Kaayla Chones - Washington Mystics (R2, P15)
2006 - Tiffany Stansbury - Houston Comets (R3, P29)
2007 - Gillian Goring - Washington Mystics (R3, P32)
2007 - Ashley Key - Indiana Fever (R3, P25)
2008 - Khadijah Whittington - Indiana Fever (R2, P26)
WES MOORE ERA
2014 - Markeisha Gatling - Chicago Sky (R1, P10)
2014 - Kody Burke - Washington Mystics (R3, P32)
2019 - Kiara Leslie - Washington Mystics (R1, P10)
2022 - Elissa Cunane - Seattle Storm (R2, P17)
2022 - Kayla Jones - Minnesota Lynx (R2, P22)
2025 WNBA DRAFT INVITEES
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Georgia Amoore - Kentucky
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Sarah Ashlee Barker - Alabama
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Paige Bueckers - UConn
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Sonia Citron - Notre Dame
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Sania Feagin - South Carolina
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Kiki Iriafen - USC
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Aziaha James - NC State
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Dominique Malonga - France
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Aneesah Morrow - LSU
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Te-Hina PaoPao - South Carolina
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Saniya Rivers - NC State
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Madison Scott - Ole Miss
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Sheyanne Sellers - Maryland
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Ajša Sivka - Slovenia
